Dairy Free, Gluten Free Dirt Cake

When I found out I had to go gluten free for 5 weeks, everyone gave me suggestions on which blog’s to follow to find some good recipes. One of those blog’s was Iowa Girl Eats. I have found so many delicious sounding recipes on this blog and this one just fell into my email this week and I knew I had to try it. Recipe below.

Ingredients:

For the Vanilla Pudding:

1/3 cup sugar

2 Tablespoons gluten-free cornstarch (I used Argo)

1/4 teaspoon salt

1-1/4 cups almond milk

3 egg yolks

3 Tablespoons Vegan Butter(I didn’t use vegan butter)

2 teaspoons vanilla

For the Dirt Cake:

4oz vegan cream cheese, room temperature

9oz coconut cool whip (I couldn’t find dairy free cool whip so I got the dairy kind)

1/2 cup powdered sugar

3 Tablespoons Vegan Butter, softened to room temperature (I didn’t use vegan butter)

1 teaspoon vanilla

2 cups homemade vanilla pudding (entire recipe above)

8oz package GF/DF chocolate sandwich cookies (I used Glutino)

Gummy worms, for decoration

Directions:

For the Vanilla Pudding:

1. Place a fine mesh strainer over a large glass bowl then set aside. Add sugar, cornstarch, and salt to a medium-sized saucepan then whisk to combine. Add 1/4 cup almond milk then whisk vigorously until smooth. Add egg yolks then whisk until smooth. Add remaining 1 cup milk then whisk until smooth.

2. Place saucepan over medium heat then cook, whisking often, until pudding begins to thicken and bubble. Turn heat down to low then switch to a spatula and cook until pudding has thickened, 4-5 minutes. Remove pan from heat then stir in butter and vanilla, and then pour pudding through fine mesh sieve to strain.

3. Place a piece of saran wrap directly over the pudding to prevent a skin from forming on top then refrigerate until set, 2 hours.

For the Dirt Cake: 

1. Whisk vegan cream cheese in a large bowl to ensure it’s entirely smooth. Add coconut cool whip then whisk until smooth. Add powdered sugar, butter, and vanilla then whisk until smooth. Add homemade pudding then whisk until smooth.

2. Add chocolate sandwich cookies to a food processor then process until smooth.

3. Layer ingredients in a 1-1/2 – 2 quart sized glass bowl: 1/4 cup cookie crumbs, 2 cups pudding filling, 3/4 cup cookie crumbs, remaining pudding filling, and remaining cookie crumbs. Refrigerate for at least 1 hour, or overnight then top with gummy worms and serve.

So I realize this is a dairy free recipe and I did not make it 100% dairy free. I couldn’t find the dairy free cool whip at Publix and since my dairy allergy isn’t too bad, I went for regular cool whip. I also didn’t use vegan butter, I used just normal unsalted butter. I may have also used a little too much butter, I didn’t measure before throwing it in the pan! Oh well! 

This recipe is very very sweet so you may not be able to eat a big serving. It is good though! I have never made pudding that wasn’t from the box so this was quite the experience for me. I think I did ok for my first time!

Enjoy!!

Dairy Free Potato Soup

It is a cold one in Florida today, rainy and 65 degrees. Yes that is cold to us Floridians. It is a great day for soup. I LOVE potato soup and was happy to find a dairy free recipe for it. The last time I made something dairy free it didn’t go well so I was a bit nervous for this. It actually tasted great and it is an easy recipe. Dad loved it and he had no idea it was dairy free, well now he does! Recipe below!

Ingredients

• 8 russet potatoes, diced into cubes
• 4 cups chicken stock
• 1 cup coconut milk
• ¼ cup coconut cream
• salt and pepper, to taste
• 8 slices bacon, cooked and crumbled

Instructions

In a large pot, add in the potatoes, chicken stock, coconut milk, coconut cream, and 4 slices of the bacon crumbled. Cook on medium-heat with a lid for about an hour, or until the potatoes are tender. Add in salt and pepper, to taste.

If you want to put a little dairy in and sprinkle some cheese on top you can.

It does have a coconut taste to it, but not in an overpowering way. I don’t like coconut and I thought this was perfect. I didn’t use chicken stock, I used chicken broth, so either way it works. It is really good, you will definitely enjoy it. It is perfect for those cold days and it only takes about an hour to make.

Enjoy!!

Tilapia

Hello! This might surprise some of you that I would ever cook fish on my own. Well, I need some more food options in my life and figured fish was easy. Tonight’s dinner definitely proved that it was a good choice! I love teriyaki sauce and figured why not try it on fish. I have never made fish so I didn’t know what to expect, but I would say this was a success.

I put my Tilapia in a zip lock bag and poured in some teriyaki sauce and let the fish soak in it for a few minutes. Depending on how much of the teriyaki taste you want, you can leave in longer to marinate. I have zero patience so it was in the bag for about 5 minutes. I took it out and put it into a baking dish. I had some cut up pineapple left so I added some pineapple chunks to the baking dish as well. I cooked it for about 20 minutes on 350. As a side dish I made white rice with peas and carrots. I also put some teriyaki in the rice to keep the flavors consistent. Below is my masterpiece! No recipe to follow, just all on my own. I would say I did good!

Well some success had to come with some failure. I tried making dairy free ice cream for dessert using a frozen banana, cocoa powder, some almond milk, and peanut butter. Horrible, horrible, horrible. I think my failure was in the amount of cocoa powder I used. Unfortunately, this got thrown down the drain because I could only get a taste before spitting it out. Sorry for the gross details, but just keeping it real.

Eat the fish, not the ice cream.

 

Dairy Free Mac and Cheese

I want to start off the first blog post by saying I don’t have fancy taste. I am a very simple eater and have been told I eat like a 5 year old. One of my New Years Resolutions is to not eat out during the work week. I want to make things that can last a couple days, having leftovers for lunch is one thing, but having leftovers that can make another dinner is amazing!

I have a dairy allergy that I pretend I don’t have, but I figured while I am making resolutions I should make one about this too. Unfortunately, I have already broken that one. Last Sunday, I made Dairy Free Mac and Cheese. For someone who has never made dairy free anything before this was going to be a learning experience. I had high hopes that this was going to be amazing, and I may quite possibly have built it up so much that I was even more disappointed when I failed. I am not afraid to admit I failed, it was my first time ever making something like this. Below is the recipe in case you want to try.

Serves 5
30 minutes: 10 minutes to cook macaroni and make sauce, 20 minutes oven and grill time.
Ingredients:
3 1/2 cups dried macaroni
1/2 cup vegan margarine
1/2 cup plain white flour
3 1/2 cups boiling water
1 tsp salt, added gradually to taste
2 tbsp. soy sauce
1-2 cloves fresh garlic, crushed
Pinch Turmeric
1 cup nutritional yeast flakes

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Cook macaroni in boiling, lightly salted water according to directions on package. When cooked, drain in colander and return to pan to keep warm.
3. While pasta is cooking, melt margarine over low heat.

4. Beat in flour with a wire whisk

5. Continue to beat over a medium heat until the mixture (called a roux), is smooth and bubbly.

6. Whip in the boiling water, salt, soy sauce, garlic, and turmeric, beating well to dissolve the roux.

7. The sauce should continue to cook until it thickens and begins to bubble.

8. Whip in the yeast flakes.

9. Mix part of the sauce with the cooked macaroni, and put in a casserole dish.

10. Pour the rest of the sauce on top, sprinkle with paprika

11. Bake for 15 minutes. Put under the broiler for a few minutes until the sauce thickens and gets stretchy.

I honestly have no idea where I went wrong, but it was a major fail on my part. Looked good, but did not taste good.

I wish you readers luck, and please let me know if you try it! I am curious to see if others can make it and what tips you would have for me.

-L